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VOTE!

Today in Canada, citizens are casting their votes to elect a new leader. Prime Minister Harper, or the Dark Lord, as we like to call him, has proven to not be very good for our economy. It’s time for a change. Today, I helped the effort to make a change. At 11:30 this morning, I cast my vote.

I’m not a very political person per say, but there are things that Harper has been the ringleader of that I certainly don’t agree with. This entry isn’t going to be me telling you who to vote for, or why I think you should vote a certain way; I just want to voice my opinions on the topic, and tell you why I think it’s important that we vote.

One of my biggest peeves about Harper is the $45 million cuts he’s made to the Arts. I honestly don’t know what I would be doing in a world without music, film, poetry, dance, theatre.. the list is endless. Granted, yes, this was a few years ago, but even still – a world without some sort of art is mindless and monotonous. Back in 2008, in an interview with CTV’s Mike Duffy, Trudeau said, “Canadian identity is built around its creativity, its imagination, its vision. Our artists drive us forward. This is yet another example that the fact that Mr. Harper simply does not understand Canadians and does not trust Canadians in the choices they make.”

Amen, Justin Trudeau. Amen.

Let’s not forget about making deals with companies that are some of the worst polluters on the planet. Thanks, but no thanks, Harper. Canada is a gorgeous country. I haven’t seen much of it, but what I have seen is breathtaking. Banff is one of the most spectacular places I’ve been, with mountains breaking up the skyline, snow peaks and all. Stunning. Even my hometown of Sudbury is gorgeous at times, surrounded by parks, lakes, and waterfalls. Why are we on board with someone who’s threatening a slow, impending destruction of our environment? I’m not trying to be preachy, but I’d like to grow old in a world full of oceans, lakes, trees and beauty; not steel, polluted streets, dirty water and air. Just sayin’.

The last thing I’m going to mention isn’t really a jab at Harper (even though he’s not my favourite person in the world), it’s about us young Canadians. The Millennials outnumber the Baby Boomers. If you want to see a change, you need to help make this change. We’re the ones who will have to deal with the consequences in the future. Our children and our children’s children will be the ones who bear the brunt of our decisions. Canada is a young, technologically developed country, and as I said, the Millennial population is large. If every single young Canadian took the time to vote, we could have a country that we want. We’re at a point where we can see changes we want to see, and whether it be for better or worse, we can help make that change.

Vote any way you’d like, but just vote.

You can’t blame any one person if the outcome isn’t what you wanted, but if you at least cast a vote, you can say you did your part. Oh, and hey, Harper: calling us Canadians “ordinary people” doesn’t really make me want to keep you around.